Pubdate: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 Source: Times-Advocate (CN ON) Copyright: 2005 Exeter Times-Advocate Contact: http://www.southhuron.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2215 Author: Nina Van Lieshout FORMER ADDICT SPEAKS AT SHDHS EXETER -- Life has not always been easy for former drug addict Paul Christie. "I have come so far you wouldn't believe," he says. Even now after staying sober for over six years there is still a bit of a battle. "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, I take it one day at a time. I make sure today that I'm clean and sober, one day at a time is great," explained Christie last week to a filled gym at South Huron District High School. Christie's long journey to where he is today began in Grade 7 when he started smoking. In Grade 8 Christie began smoking marijuana and by Grade 9 alcohol was already in the picture. "One time my two friends and I were at a party and we ran out of alcohol, we broke into this wealthy house here in Ontario, no one was home so we stole the liquor in their cabinet," explains Christie. "I don't remember much, just flashes, like bits and pieces but I woke up and turned on the news the next morning...two multi-million dollar homes burnt to the ground. When I got to school the police were there and I was in trouble." The police were by Christie's side for Grade 9 and part of Grade 10. "By the time I was 15 I'd already began using syringes full of cocaine and heroin and it just escalated from there." Christie has spent time in both a psychiatric hospital and in jail. "I was also wanted for arson charges and break and enter from that earlier incident in Canada but I fled to the States, to California and didn't see my family for 11 years, then I ended up in jail in California. Thank God though, I got bailed out really quickly." Christie was a fugitive and his drug abuse was ruining his life. "I had a son. He's 11 now but I never spent much time with him. Not having my family with me for so long has been a big regret." Over the years Christie has lost 11 of his friends to suicide. "They were all drug addicts and I consider myself responsible for five of those deaths," says Christie. "I actually tried to hang myself and I couldn't do it, it broke on me. I felt like a loser, I couldn't even kill myself." Christie considers himself a miracle. "I just woke up one day, looked in the mirror and thought this is it, I don't want to do this anymore." He spent four days in detox and nine months in rehab. The now 41-year-old lives in Fort Erie with his 11-year-old son. "We get along great, we're like best friends." Christie is being sponsored by the Niagara-On-The-Lake/Lewiston Rotary Club, visiting 262 schools and speaking to over 200,000 students. Christie will continue crossing Canada with his talks at different high schools and when finished, "I'll speak at another 260, I'm going to keep going," says Christie. He has a web site detected to helping those who have a drug problem or know of someone who does, it's http://www.gloryclouds.com - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin